Stargate Atlantis StarChild
by WraithCommander'sLover
Summary: On a supposedly-deserted planet, the SGA team encounters Tev'keta, a girl who lives by herself. However, there is a secret that she holds that will change the team's view about Wraith for good.


When the Stargate activated, Tev'keta did not know what to do. As the only person on this planet, she knew when her friends were going to show up. This was not one of those times. Kalesh had not told her what to do if someone else came. They had both thought that no one knew about this place; apparently they were wrong.

Tev'keta stood frozen like a hunted animal as the Stargate whirled to life, the wormhole as blue as her wide eyes. At the last instant, instinct made her duck behind one of the abandoned buildings. It was fortunate she did; four human strangers came through the wormhole only seconds later. Three were men and one was a woman only a few years older than her. They all carried weapons, but were relaxed, showing that they expected no threat here.

"Looks like the Wraith beat us to the place," remarked the younger man in blue. From all appearances, he was the leader.

The dark-skinned man shook his head. "No smoke. Whatever happened here happened a long time ago."

"I agree, Colonel." The woman concurred as her foot nudged a pile of rubble.

The man who had not spoken just yet raised a finger while he scowled at a devise in his other hand. "Wait a minute. I'm picking up only one other life sign...that way."

Tev'keta's heart quickened as all four pairs of eyes glanced her way. They had not even been looking and already they had found her! A hand tugged at her auburn hair out of habit. Now her only haven was the crashed ship. If they followed her, they would know who her friends were. The dark-skinned man had the look of a tracker, so she would not be able to do her normal tricks. That left her with the one option she most hated: running.

The woman had begun advancing slowly, saying something in a different language. Five more steps and Tev'keta would be trapped. "Come on out. We will not harm you."

Tev'keta took a deep breath and burst out of cover on the opposite side of the building. Wind whipped at her face and the tall grass stung her legs as she ran away with all the speed she could muster. Kalesh had taken her over the route time and time again until she knew the way by heart and could sprint without falling down. She did not need to look behind her to know the tracker was right behind her. Of them all, he was the fittest.

A sheer rock face loomed suddenly before them, but Tev'keta did not slow down. She scrambled up the side using supports that would only hold someone her size and darted off again as soon as she reached the top. From now until she topped the hill, it would be easy for them to catch up with her. However, if she could make it inside the ship, she would easily avoid them.

She nearly lost her balance as she slid down the hill, not paying attention to the ship that loomed before her. Tev'keta did stop at the entrance to look back and was hard-pressed not to laugh at the four's shocked and baffled faces. Apparently they recognized a Wraith hiveship when they saw one, half-buried or not. With a smile on her face, Tev'keta took two steps back and waved her hand over the console nearby. Nothing happened. Frowning, she tried again and knew when nothing responded that the power had finally run out. This is not my day.

"Please come out." The woman coaxed again. "There is no need to be afraid. We will not harm you."

"Then why do you carry weapons? I can see they kill." Tev'keta knew she was taking a risk, but she had to buy time until she activated the encoded distress beacon. Kalesh had made sure there was always enough energy for that.

"We carry them only for safety reasons."

Still Tev'keta shook her head. It was clear they would kill a Wraith without thinking twice. Her fingers brushed the button she needed and she eagerly pressed it.

The slowest man perked up. "The ship just began transmitting a distress beacon. We're in serious trouble if the Wraith hear this."

The dark man moved so fast, Tev'keta could not run away far enough before she felt hands grab he shoulders. She struggled violently, using every trick she knew, but the man's hold only seemed to get tighter. "Let me go!" Her cries were unheeded as she was taken out into the sunlight. "Please leave me alone!"

"Ronan, let her go." The leader insisted with a sigh. "She can't do anything."

Tev'keta shook Ronan's hands off, glaring right at the others before she could control herself. Their reactions were not surprising; her eyes were as blue as the wormhole, but lacked any iris at all. All they would see was a blue orb in a white field. She lowered them as the man took a step back. "Please let me go back. I want to go home.

A hand touched her shoulder in a motherly way. "We would love to take you back. Do you know where your family is?"

Nodding, Tev'keta pointed back at the hiveship. "Of course you aren't going to, are you?" The immediate refusal on their faces told her the answer to that question.

"You live there?" The other man in blue asked, curiosity overriding his caution. "Who are you?"

"Tev'keta. I've been here all my life. No Wraith remain on the ship, if you're worried about it." She had no idea why they were so interested in her. Just because she lived in a Wraith hiveship did not mean she was anything special.

Three of them drew a way off, leaving Ronan with her. After a few seconds, Tev'keta sat down on a nearby rock. Now that she was not running, her legs had begun screaming at her. Ronan did not seem like a bad man, she realized as she eyed him from beneath her locks. He just had a bad history that was all: scary, maybe, but not evil. "I'm sorry if the rocks hurt you, Ronan."

Ronan started as if she had slapped him. "What?"

"The cliff. I'm sorry if you got hurt."

A grunt was his only reply for a bit before he asked, "Was this your planet?"

Tev'keta shrugged. "I don't remember. My friends found me on another planet and brought me here. I don't know anything before I woke up here. Sometimes, though, I wish I was." Kalesh had told her only a little bit about where he had found her, but that had scared her away from asking more. "Are you the last one of your planet?"

Something changed in Ronan at that and Tev'keta instantly regretted asking. The return of the others spared any further comment. "Well," began the younger man. "We know you'd like to go home, but until we know it's safe, we'd like you to come see where we live."

Now Tev'keta did not know what to do. There were only a few planets she could safely go by herself. With the beacon on, however, Kalesh would come thinking he would find her there, but if he did not, he would kill those who took her away. It had only happened once when she was still "young" so-to-speak and she did not want these people to suffer the same fate. Her curiosity was overwhelming, but she knew better now. "No, thank you. My friends will be here soon. You can go back without me, but I will not leave."

"Why?"

When Tev'keta could not reply, the woman stepped in and began walking. "Colonel Sheppard means that you can visit for a little while. When will your friends be here?"

"Tomorrow morning at the latest," she replied after a moment of thought. "However, they won't be pleased when they find out that you've taken me to a planet they don't know." Her feet kicked a pile of rocks, but she froze when they echoed in front of her. They had brought her to the cliff already!

The young blue-man raised his weapon, copied by Ronan. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice this time."

"No!"

A power she rarely felt rose steeply inside of her mind. Her eyes widened and in the back of her mind Tev'keta could feel the dialing devise. Its circuitry withered under her power and caused a relatively large explosion. Now they could not leave. Tev'keta returned back to herself just in time to see a huge fireball rise above the trees. Sound came a split second later, a roar that nearly drowned out every other sound.

"What in the heck?" The scientist exclaimed, bursting into a full-out run.

Tev'keta let them run. A lack of energy had taken control of her and she could barely lift her feet. Her last thought before blacking out was that Kalesh wouldn't be happy with her.

The voices were the first thing Tev'keta heard once she woke up:

"It's been hours, Doc." That was Sheppard without a doubt.

A new voice cut in. "Aye, but I'm a wee bit outside my comfort zone here. Supernatural mind powers weren't covered in med-school."

"Do you think she had anything to do with that dart we crashed this morning, Teyla?"

"No. I cannot sense anything coming from her that would give us away."

Tev'keta nearly cried out. They had crashed Kalesh's ship? Of course, he sometimes used decoys to draw attention away from himself. She opened her eyes just the slightest and could see the four a ways away from her, talking to a new man. None were glancing her way even though she was out in the open. She made sure they were distracted before sitting up ever so quietly. When Ronan did not notice, Tev'keta began hoping that she might have a chance. Inch by inch she crawled backwards into the trees, only standing up when they were blocked from view. Leaves whispered gently beneath her feet as she crept away, refusing to run any more. Even now, she could feel her weakness begin to grow. Kalesh had the medicine she needed; if he had died, she would die soon too. He was the only one who knew how to help.

Stumbling to the top of the rise, Tev'keta peered at the hiveship hopefully. "Kalesh?" She called, biting her lip when there was no answer.

Before she could move farther, the branch next to her burst into splinters. Tev'keta whirled around to see Ronan aiming again. Fear pushed any exhaustion aside as she tore down the hill. Why are they doing this? She wondered in frustration, the cool, dark hallways enveloping her. Heavy feet clanged behind her. "Kalesh!" The scream tore out of her throat and she headed for the one place she knew he would be.

A tense Wraith scientist glanced up at Tev'keta's frantic entry. Never in her life had she been so glad to see him. Without hesitation she ran to him and threw her arms about his waist, burying her face in the leather. Gentle hands embraced her protectively as the five burst into the room seconds later.

Sheppard's face literally widened in shock at the strange sight before instinct took over again. "Okay. Let the girl go and we'll make this quick."

Kalesh raised a peaceful hand, his other draped protectively around Tev'keta's shoulders. "I assure you, Colonel Sheppard, this is not what it appears. You see, I have raised Tev'keta since she was a child."

"What?" Teyla breathed.

"Impossible." Ronan agreed, a feral smile on his face.

Just then, Tev'keta gasped for air, sagging in Kalesh's grip. Her lungs burned with their need for air despite every gasp she made. Kalesh's face creased in a frown of worry as he rapidly drew a needle out of his near-invisible pocket. Tev'keta felt his mind whisper soothing thoughts to her as he lowered her into a more comfortable position. It helped to quell her fear and it was a relief to feel the needle inject the medicine into her spine. Almost immediately she could breathe easier and she gave Kalesh a reassuring smile, though she was still shaking a bit.

"What the bloody heck did you do to her?" The new man, presumably a doctor, demanded, torn between the Wraith and Tev'keta's condition.

Kalesh did not answer right away. He continued sending the calming thoughts until the last of Tev'keta's tremors had faded. "I'm fine, Kalesh." Tev'keta insisted softly, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

A very quiet "hmmmph" was the only hint Kalesh gave her that he did not believe—could not believe it for long. Without another word, he helped her to stand up. "I did nothing."

"Whenever I use my power like I did, I get bad reactions." Tev'keta explained, subtly placing herself in front of Sheppard's line of fire. "Sheppard, please don't shoot," she begged when the men did not show any signs of backing down.

Kalesh placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in reassurance. "Colonel Sheppard, if I had been another one of my kind, you would most surely be dead by now. However, if you harm her even the slightest, I will not hesitate to intervene."

Sheppard paused for what seemed like forever. A couple of the others whispered their thoughts, though Ronan's was clearly written on his face. Tev'keta stared into the Colonel's eyes, pleading for him to at least give them a chance. Eventually Sheppard sighed in annoyance and lowered his weapon a trifle. "Fine, but don't try anything."

Kalesh's arm relaxed incredibly, the only sign that he had been nervous. "You are a doctor, are you not?" He directed at the new man.

"Aye," came the uncertain reply.

"Then I am sure you are curious as to what is in the inoculation."

That was permission enough for the man and he immediately set his pack on the nearest open space. Sheppard cleared his throat. "I'm gonna take a look around for a while. Ronan?"

For a while, Tev'keta stood quietly next to Teyla and the scientist. She had never been near other humans before and did not quite know how to talk to them. A suggestion not her own flittered across her mind; Tev'keta glanced up at Kalesh, but he was busy with the doctor at another end. Either way, she knew he had given her the idea.

"Excuse me," she began, drawing the others' attention. "I've noticed you are interested in hiveships, am I correct?"

"Me? Sure...yeah. I am."

Tev'keta smiled a little. "There are a few things that I would like to show you, if you don't mind." She left the room and began walking down a different corridor. When she was sure they were behind her, Tev'keta continued. "Although Kalesh takes care of enough of the basics to make me comfortable, he's a scientist, not an engineer. Even I don't know how to activate some of the simpler systems, only access them."

"But every system in a hiveship is in Wraith," the scientist pointed out. "You can read it?"

Tev'keta blushed a little and nodded. "Yes. That and the language of the Al'Terrans."

The scientist muttered something about similarities before inquiring, "So what do you want me to fix first?"

A smile played on Tev'keta's lips as she paused before a doorway. "I'm assuming Kalesh restored power already, otherwise we wouldn't be here. Kalesh doesn't want me to fall into the hands of the other Wraith for fear that I would be killed in their attempts to interrogate me. So far, we've been lucky, but still it isn't enough." She reached up and pressed certain sections of the organic wall. The door slid aside to reveal the main bridge of the ship. Her guests' expressions were priceless. "I was hoping that with your help we could get the long-range scanners online."

"In the event the Wraith appear in orbit." Teyla's eyes glittered in understanding, though she refused to step further.

Not the case with the scientist, however. He immediately stepped into the bridge, seeming not to have heard her. At Tev'keta's clearing her throat, though, he gave an absent reply that he would do his best.

Teyla placed a hand on Tev'keta's arm. "If you don't mind my asking, where do you sleep?"

This time Tev'keta hesitated only a little bit before starting back the way they had come. She felt that Teyla was someone she could easily trust, which was a feeling she did not get from the others. "Teyla, I was wondering—could you—I mean, I was looking at you when you met Kalesh and I'm curious: do you hear the Wraith like he does?"

"If you mean I can access their mental network, then yes." Teyla stopped and stared at Tev'keta intensely. "Do you?"

Tev'keta shook her head. "No. However, I was hoping you would understand better than the others. Kalesh does care for me, Teyla. He's been like a father to me ever since I can remember."

"Then how come he hasn't eaten you?" Ronan and Sheppard suddenly appeared in front of them. "Answer me!"

Shrinking mentally away from Ronan's gaze, Tev'keta stayed where she was and met his eyes. "He hasn't fed on me because he can't, Ronan. The first time he started to, but something made him stop. That's happened to you, hasn't it?"

Ronan's reserve wavered for just a moment, but quickly steadied again. "I don't care what excuses you make for him. He's a Wraith. They always end up turning on you even if they appear to be your friends. Believe me when I say that I will kill him if he so much as remotely returns to who he is."

Tev'keta found herself shaking with mixing emotions as tears began pooling in her eyes. "Kalesh is different, Ronan, no matter what your prejudice tells you. Have you even thought that the Wraith only act like they do because they have no choice? Of course you haven't. You would kill them without giving them a chance. I..." Words choked in her throat and she shoved past Teyla, tears flowing unchecked down her face.

Nighttime found Tev'keta sobbing on the hull of the hiveship, watching the stars. Teyla and Sheppard had followed her to the other end of the ship, trying to call her back. She had not listened and instead retreated to the highest end, her hiding spot since she was young. By rights she should have stopped crying by now, but whenever she stopped for a few minutes, something would send her crying all over again. Kalesh would find her sooner or later and end up taking her back down to her room.

As if summoned by her thoughts, Kalesh was suddenly beside her. Smoothly, he sat down next to her, a warm and comforting presence.

Her shield of restraint crumbled. Wailing, Tev'keta buried her face in his shoulder. A calming hand ran up and down her back as her body shook uncontrollably. Now encircled by his caring arms, Tev'keta could ignore the entire world around her. Here, at least, she was safe. She let the tears fall until she could not possibly summon up any more and began telling Kalesh in broken words what Ronan had told her.

Kalesh was silent for a long while once Tev'keta had finished. When he did speak, it was as soft and gentle as the hand that ran through her hair. "You must understand, 'Keta, that these people come from a world the Wraith have never touched. Two years ago, they were attacked and several of their people were captured in a culling." A sound similar to a sigh escaped his barely-parted lips.

"But what about Ronan? He isn't one of them; Teyla isn't either."

"Teyla is Athosian, a race I have told you about. Ronan Dex, on the other hand, he has never had a reason to think of the Wraith differently. Seven years ago, all but three hundred of his people were either culled or killed. He was one of those collected by our ships and was one of the first to be fed upon. However, like you, he was unique in the way that a Wraith cannot feed on him. So he was made into a Runner."

Now it made more sense. Tev'keta could not help but shudder at the thought of what Ronan must have gone through. "I guess I was hoping that they would understand better. They're more stubborn than I thought."

Kalesh turned Tev'keta's face his way. "It is no bad thing to expect the most from the first humans you meet, 'Keta. Were I in your position, I would feel the same. Now; are you ready to come down?" There was a teasing glint in his eye that he saved only for her.

Without warning, Tev'keta nudged Kalesh hard enough that she easily slid away from him. She couldn't help herself as a laugh burst its way out of her chest. Kalesh could always find a way to make her feel better no matter what. She ducked into the doorway Kalesh had come through, though she did not move fast. With her confusion gone, sleep now dragged at every part of her. She smiled at Kalesh when he dropped down beside her. "Good night, Kalesh." Tev'keta whispered before retreating to her room.

Tev'keta awoke with a gasp, some forgotten dream leaving her heart racing. It was one of those dreams again, she realized; dreams that seemed like memories but were forgotten as soon as she awoke. This one had been enough to scare her, yet once again she did not know why. I hate it when that happens, she thought crossly and changed into her real clothes.

She did not see anyone until she reached the food-storage room. "Ronan? I didn't think you'd be in here. Are you lost?"

The former Runner abruptly stopped what he was doing. "I'm fine." He muttered, not even looking her way.

With a shrug, Tev'keta took what she wanted from the various bins and perched on a dead console. She eyed Ronan as she munched, trying to figure out what to say to him. "You know, I'm sorry for how I acted last night."

That caught Ronan by surprise and he stared at her. "The way you acted?"

"Of course. I hadn't realized you were once a Runner. If I had, I wouldn't have said those things the way I did." Tev'keta paused, biting her lip.

"How did you find out?" Ronan shot back. "Was it Teyla?"

Tev'keta shook her head. "Kalesh did. I'm assuming he recognized the mark on your neck. I can't imagine what you must have gone through in the past seven years and I don't want to make you change your mind at once, but I'd like you to consider something:

During the first year after Kalesh found me, he always came just after he fed to avoid the risk of turning on me. For a while it worked. Then one day he forgot and he felt the instinct to feed on me. He resisted for a while, but eventually instinct overrode reason like it does in anyone." Tev'keta forced herself not to recoil from the memory. "Kalesh had me pinned against a wall and had raised his hand to feed, but something stopped him. Somehow I'm immune to the Wraith. Now that you're here, it's hard for him to control his instincts. He's just as uncomfortable as you are, maybe more, so please, give him a chance." With that, she left.

Dr. Beckett was alone in the lab room when Tev'keta arrived. "Ah, good morning, Tev'keta. Did ye have a pleasant night?"

"Yes, thank you. How are you?" Tev'keta glanced curiously at Beckett's instruments.

"A wee bit more relaxed now that your friend's not going to eat me." Beckett darted over and stopped Tev'keta's hands from touching one of his items. "Please don't touch that, it's very sensitive."

A laugh found its way out of her as Tev'keta backed away. "You sound just like Kalesh did when I first met him, doctor." Shaking her head, Tev'keta headed over to Kalesh's own set of vials. Her episodes were rare enough that they had to recalculate how much they had left every time. As far as they knew, only the Al'Terrans knew how to make the formula, though they had tried.

"What's that?"

"It's just the antidote Kalesh gave me yesterday." Tev'keta's hands quickly arranged the vials as she talked. "I would describe to you what is in here, but they are in Wraith and old Al'Terran measurements. All I can say is that only the Al'Terrans—or Ancients, as I hear you call them—could make it." So involved was she that she did not notice that the small amount in the main vial was all that was left from the ceramic jar. Whatever Beckett said was lost to her; that was it? Compared to a normal dosage for a minor use of her power, it was enough for two more small incidents or one more incident like the DHD, no more.

Dr. Beckett cleared his throat noisily, catching her attention. "Did ye hear anything I just said?" Some of Tev'keta's concern must have shown up on her face for he tensed. "What's wrong, lass?"

Very slowly, like she was moving in a dream, Tev'keta returned her attention to the world around her. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed and tried to answer his question without her voice shaking. "After yesterday, we only have enough for one more..." Fear closed her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut. Without more, she would certainly die within the year.

A familiar long hand rested on her arm and Tev'keta opened her eyes to see a very scared Kalesh standing in front of her. "You arrived here earlier than I expected, 'Keta," he began softly, completely ignoring Beckett's presence. "I had hoped that you would not know how little we had left until I told you."

"You shouldn't have given me that dose! A smaller amount would have worked..."

"...For a while, yes. Then we would have run as low as we are anyway." Real pain and sadness entered his dark eyes. He sighed and brought his other hand to her cheek as a fatherly note entered his voice. "'Keta, for the past six months, I have tried to find another station like the one I found you in. However, it seems that that station was the only one of its kind; no further mention of others was made in the logs we found."

Tev'keta forced her heart to slow its frantic racing. "What should I do, then?" Her voice had lessened till it was just above a whisper. "What are we going to do?"

For once, Kalesh could not answer. Never in all of her life had Tev'keta seen him this indecisive and uncertain. The answer was there on his face, though; if she were forced into using a great amount of her power, she would certainly require more of the medicine than they had. Sure, he could give her the rest, but it would only prolong the inevitable; she would die.

"Excuse me," Dr. Beckett interjected, pointing at the vial. "May I have a look at that with my things?"

Scowling, Kalesh handed over the precious vial. "I advise you not to break or damage it, Dr. Beckett. If you do and Tev'keta needs it, she will die."

Beckett nodded and quickly took the sample over to one of his magnification devises even as Colonel Sheppard and Teyla entered the room. "Good morning, people. Having a good time so..." Whatever Sheppard had been going to say died when he caught the easily noticeable air of worry in the room. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"What in the-" Beckett jerked away from the devise reciting several foreign words in his language that Tev'keta was sure she did not want to know about.

Just then, there was an audible buzz in the room, making everyone jump, even Kalesh. "Testing, testing one, two, three." That had to be McKay's voice.

"Rodney?" Sheppard fairly growled as he glanced around them for the source of the noise. "Let me guess, you got more than the long-range scanners back on line."

"Oh, there you are." McKay sounded nonplussed by the Colonel's tone. "Yes, actually, I have. Can you all come up here to the bridge, please?"

Tev'keta was right on Kalesh's heals as he stalked out of the room ahead of the others, hearing him muttering faint Wraith curses underneath his breath. She found the whole moment rather amusing. Judging from the others' reactions, McKay had a knack for interrupting a tense moment with a lighthearted attitude that was grating on the nerves. Not to mention his arrogance would certainly drive me crazy after a full hour with him. Tev'keta made herself not follow where that thought was leading her. Sure, McKay was arrogant and he might have a reason to be, but certainly not at that level. It was enough to make a person want to strangle his neck.

McKay was leaning casually on a console when they burst into the room. "Ah, here we go." He tactfully waited for the others to join them before continued. "I was, uh, just going to turn on the long-range scanners for you and I thought you would want to be here to see it considering it's your ship..."

"Just do it," Kalesh growled with impatience.

Apparently, that was enough to get McKay on with it and he pressed a few buttons on the pad he was holding. Several beeps broke the quiet and a display lit up the wall behind him. Tev'keta could not help but feel a certain level of relief...but that relief was quickly swept away when a near sector lit up red, outlining a ship in orbit. Several ships, actually.

Kalesh shoved McKay aside and leaned in closer, touching a near-invisible part of the screen. His face was tense as the ship zoomed larger and he froze completely when the identity of the ships was made clear.

Tev'keta did not hear the others' cries of alarm at the sight of an entire Wraith fleet in orbit. Something inside of her had opened up like a dam when that image had popped up and now she was just beginning to understand it. She had seen this before; if not now, then so many years ago that she could not begin to count them. Their presence was like a constant pressure in the back of her head, trying to activate her abilities but failing because of the distance. In her mind's eye, she saw herself sitting on an Al'Terran medical bed being surrounded by what she thought was Al'Terrans. One of them was standing far away, but not out of earshot.

"The weapon is ready to be tested. The Council has finally given us permission to use her on the small outpost of Wraith darts on..."

"'Keta," Kalesh' voice yanked her back to the present. He was staring at her curiously, but not intent enough to prevent what he was originally going to say. "This fleet is not any fleet. I fear it is the one I belong to. They have found out about you and have come her to destroy you and anyone else here on the planet."

As if to prove his point, several smaller red dots appeared beside the bigger ships. "Darts," Tev'keta heard herself say. All the group could do was stand and watch as the dots—so harmless from this point of view—began to descend into the planet's atmosphere.


End file.
